


Blood Runs Deep

by DeeNOss



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Attempted Suicide, Deceit, Depression, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Girl x Girl, PTSD, Revenge, Violence, character suffering, relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeeNOss/pseuds/DeeNOss
Summary: Anna was Hydra's second-best cold-blooded assassin. Just like the White Wolf, she, the Red Fox, seeks revenge on those who'd wronged her. Hydra took everything from her, and if it meant going though hell to ease her conscience, she'd even die if need be. But there were some that weren't willing to let her talents go to waste. After discovering that his friend was alive, the great Captain America vowed to not let her suffer anymore. Fortunately, someone on the team was his answer.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I just really love Wanda, and I just can't help but write another story about her, she's so awesome!! So I hope this one's good, 'cause this'll be longer than the other one I wrote. You can check this story out on Wattpad and a couple other Wanda Maximoff stories I got on there, so feel free to check out my stuff on there - DeeNOss on Wattpad

_December 16th, 1991_

A tube contained a woman's body inside which enabled her to be frozen for fettle condition. Just like her male counterpart, the Red Fox was Hydra's second best agent of death. The only difference was that she didn't have a metal limb replacement nor was she forced to join them and get brainwashed. Hydra let her remember. Hydra lied to her. Hydra deceived her into believing that everything that was wrong with the world was because of the good guys; that their carelessness in sparking a second world war would doom every nation under Germany's regime. That was, of course, until Hitler fell. Now, all she had was Hydra. They were like family to her. Brutal, yet disciplinary. 

The brunette was carried out of her tube by two men to ensure that she did not resist nor disobey her allies. She could hear a man scream agonisingly as electric shock fried his memories to only leave room for words that would ensure perpetual loyalty. It was there that the brunette witnessed one of Hydra's general's speak trigger words so the Winter Soldier would follow orders and carry out the most dangerous and elite missions only he and the Red Fox were capable of. In fact, she had one that would enable Hydra to conduct experiments to bring more Winter Soldiers into Hydra's ranks. 

  
The Red Fox was told where and when her mission would be conducted. She would have to wait hours before a car rolled past her. Without any emotion or reconsideration, she turned on the ignition to her motor bike and rode up after the car and drove up alongside the left side where a man and woman noticed the masked brunette jab her fist at the driver which caused the car to crash into a tree. Immediately, she slowed down and drove back around to the car and popped open the trunk to find a silver case carrying five blue bags of super soldier serum. The driver got out of the car and dragged himself along the ground where the woman grabbed the man by his hair and forced him to look up at her. 

"Commander Holmes..." The man muttered when the woman punched him four times in the face and placed him back in the drivers seat with his head on the steering wheel. 

"HOWARD!!" The woman cried helplessly. 

Red Fox slowly dawdled around to the passenger seat where the woman was and began to strangle her as she stared at a camera revealing the event with an evil smile before she drew her pistol and shot out the camera. With the case of super soldier serum, she got back on her bike and drove off to return to the Hydra base she was stationed at. Upon her return to base, she delivered with good expectations from her superiors whom had commended her for completing the mission effectively before the bags of super soldier serum were injected into five compatible hosts. Unfortunately, the serum was yet another imperfection. More dangerous than anyone else could assume. They had to be kept sedated to avoid bringing down Hyrda's empire, while the Red Fox was pt in cold sleep for the next fifteen years until she would secretly escape, never to be seen again. 


	2. Chapter 2

_July 4th, 2015_

In a motel just south of North Carolina, a woman sat idly in her room on the end of her bed, staring blankly at her television which was switched off. Faint gunshots rang in the back of her mind, explosions going off as men's screams violated her with the harrowing cries of mercy or mothers. A stray tear ran down her cheek as regret filled her with the people she killed and people around her who died. She could remember the times when she ran along a beach or a street when her fellow comrades were gunned down or left to bleed to death or given morphine to ease their struggle. Men crying for their mother's as they bled out, unable to be saved.

The woman bowed her head and sniffled as the faces of her victims haunted her for her sins. Guilt weighed down on her as she thought of the day she agreed to join Hydra. The very people who twisted her faith, who lied to her, manipulated her to kill good, decent people who tried to make the world a better place. The woman looked down at both her hands that beat people, strangled, stabbed, shot and garroted people. At the sight of her hands, she envisioned blood dripping from her hands as her phantom stood before her, pointing a gun to her forehead. 

"Do it," she said to the phantom. 

A gunshot rang out which caused the woman to jump out of her nightmare where she found herself lying underneath newspapers on a bench in the middle of a park in North Carolina caused her to become cold and afraid. The empty streets gave a harrowing experience that she was indeed alone in the world. However, she had to keep moving. People would find her, and they would kill her. All she could think was that they had better not miss when they come to kill her. But then again, would she resist? Or accept death; her punishment? No, living is enough. That's her punishment. When a knock came at her door, she became tense as she drew a silenced pistol and pointed it at the door with her non-dominant hand as she twisted the knob with her good hand and opened the door very slightly to greet her visitor. 

"Uh, hi. Is this Room 26?" The stranger asked politely as to not impede on the woman's suffering. 

The woman refused to answer as she stared intently at the stranger. They took that as a 'no' before they excused themselves and left her alone. The woman eased a little as she shut the door and lowered her gun hand before going into the bathroom to splash her face with water. Unbeknownst to her, the stranger was a scout who could confirm her location when the stranger and half a dozen gunmen assaulted the motel. A rocket launcher fired at the specific motel the woman was in. Somehow, she anticipated this sort of thing as she immediately took countermeasures to defeat the people sent to kill her. With just a handgun carrying a maximum of fifteen bullets, she committed herself to eliminating her assassins. In the destruction of her motel room, the woman was able to get out unscathed and retaliated by sneaking around to eliminate her attackers from behind. All six were staring at the carnage ahead when each one silently fell victim to the Red Fox's kill count. 

Her first victim received a cold barrel to the back of his skull when a bullet embedded itself within his head when the woman dashed towards her second victim and grabbed his knife so she could stab him twice in his chest before he was used as a human shield. Blood sprayed out as the bullets embedded their ally's back as the fear of God was put in them as the woman mercilessly slaughtered them. The third victim charged towards the woman where shot him in his knee which forced him onto said knee as the blade the woman held entered between his neck and his chin so that the blade appeared within her victim's mouth, piercing the palate as bloody ran down the blade onto the hilt and her hand. The fourth and fifth took advantage of her when she discovered how deeply she drove the knife into her third victim's mouth by grabbing both her arms and punched her in her stomach repeatedly.

Rage channelled within her as she pulled her arms downwards which caused the two men's heads to knock together, stunning them so she could grab one by his hair and slammed his face repeatedly into the concrete until their face was a bloody pulp before grabbing the other by the back of their collar and dragged them over to the pool of the motel and stuck their face in the water to drown them. With her attackers dead, the woman broke into one of the cars and drove off to get as far as she could from trouble. 

_September 29th, 2016_

In upstate New York City, a compound housing the world's most powerful heroes where the great Captain America investigated a possible Hydra-related event in North Carolina. After discovering one of his old war buddies, Bucky Barnes was alive, there was more for the Captain that he would discover much more. Something far more dangerous... 

"Cap? You asked me to track down that missing car?" A woman politely excused herself by knocking on the door of the Captain's office. "I've managed to pinpoint it's location to Hell's Kitchen." 

The blonde spun around to acknowledge the assistant that helped track down the attack at the motel in North Carolina. "You got him?" 

"Yes, Captain." 

"Is she ready?" 

The woman nodded. "She's nervous, but I think she'll do just fine, sir." 

"I know she will." 


	3. Chapter 3

(Anna P.O.V) 

A big storm rolled over New York as I wandered through the busy streets and congested roads where people yelled and screamed at one another for causing delays whilst honking their horns like crazy. Before I settled into a bar in Hell's Kitchen, a lot of bad business was carried out at a church nearby where a priest got murdered by someone posing as the vigilante, Daredevil. Condolences for the hero who defied the Devil himself, it angered me at how they could just get away with it. Days passed by where I hoped that I could redeem myself for my sins, and yet I knew I too was suffering just like everybody else, but why did it feel like I was the only one? Eventually, I succumbed to my sorrows and drank it all away as a couple men tried to get me to go home with them for a booty call. Fuck 'em, I say. Generosity was certainly the deception these alcoholics were using to take a girl home with them, but I wasn't one of them.

Hapless was I. I noticed out of the corner of my eye a auburn-haired woman enter the bar. Just because she had to put up with the scumbags offering her a free drink didn't mean she had to act so jaded, but when she settled on a stool beside me, I found it interesting at how she would react to the foul entertainment tonight at the bar. Kindheartedly, I asked her how her day was going which seemed to startle her by the tone of my voice. Looks could kill, she almost jumped off the stool and fled the bar, but something seemed familiar about her face. Maybe she was one of my past targets? Not likely, 'cause they're all dead. Or, she was part of an organisation: Hydra, or something far more powerful; the Avengers? Perhaps, but if she was, she's probably new. Quietly, she stared at me before pursing her lips when she answered me. 

"N-No thanks," she replied, revealing an accent. 

_"Was it Russian? No... Sokovian. Yeah. That's right. She's an Avenger incognito. But what's she doing here? Who is she? Why's she here 'coincidentally'?"_ I thought to myself. 

She seemed trapped in her thoughts as to what to say until she gave me a reply. "You are new here?" 

"You could say so." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I'd watch some of these guys if I were you. They could get handsy and spike your drink if you're not careful." 

"Thank you for advice." 

"Where are you from? I don't recognise your accent." 

The woman raised her eyebrows and answered openly and honestly. "Sokovia. My... brother and I moved here a while ago. We, we made some friends and they took us in." 

I noticed some discoloration in her face and noticed her break eye contact with me as the bartender finally asked her what she wanted to drink. When her drink arrived, she took it and held it by the body and took her first sip which made her shiver. 

"First time?" I asked coolly. 

"N-No. Of course not." She replied quickly as to avoid embarrassing herself. 

"Don't lie. Nobody likes liars. Who are you, really?" 

She looked shocked at me, her eyes wide open as I began to interrogate her. Out of the corner of my eye, she waved her hand faintly and got out of her seat to walk into the bathroom with me behind her - whatever she did to me entranced me to follow her. Once we were in the bathroom, she shot her arm out which caused a magic force to throw me into a wall. I struggled to reach for my gun but whatever she was doing managed to stop me from shooting her dead as she extracted my phone and made off with it after she played with my mind. 

_  
"Did you enjoy it?" A voice echoed._

_"What?" My younger self asked._

_A man in a white lab coat walked up to me, coldly staring at me as he raised his hand up to reveal a red book with a black star on it. He then spoke trigger words in Russian that etched into my skull. Everything became pitch black before a singular ceiling light was produced over a body tied to a chair with a bag over their head. Slowly, I walked over to the prisoner and produced a pistol which I was unable to control my arm raising up to level the barrel with their head. Without another second to hesitate, I pulled the trigger, causing the victim to lash back from the penetration of the bullet in their skull before I removed the bag from their head and saw the face of a monster: faceless, hairless, emotionless... the face of a monstrosity that had an empty face stitched onto its face as it looked up at me when eyes and a mouth was made as if an invisible knife slowly carved said eyes and mouth on its face._

_It smiled, teeth being revealed as it rose up from the chair it was bound in, easily breaking the bonds when it raised its hand behind its back to grab ahold of a scythe that came out of nowhere. The other hand raised up over its shoulder and pulled down a hood before everything went cold, like I was in an ice-like prison; ice crackling everything around me that revealed a cube I was trapped in with the monstrosity. When I tried to raise my gun at it, I found that my hands were empty, leaving me defenceless._

_"Snis ruoy rof yap. Snis ruoy rof yap," it chanted in a deep, devilish voice as it raised the scythe up as it got ready to swing it at me."SNIS RUOY ROF YAP! SNIS RUOY ROF YAP!"_

_Tripping over, I curled up into a ball as I began to sob my eyes out. The killing blow didn't come. I looked up at the monstrosity but found its presence empty. Instead, I was now in another room. A ballet room. The Red Room..._

  
When I came to, I was back in the bathroom with no sign of the brunette or whatever she stole from me. My phone. It had everything on there, and now she has it! DAMMIT!! I can still remember my next target at least. The next son of a bitch who had to pay for what they did to me. Then, the Avengers. But I'm not ready. Not yet. The Enhanced failed, but that doesn't mean I will either. I just had to get out of here first. Luckily I had a place to go, as long as nobody found out about my hideout, that is. 


	4. Chapter 4

(Wanda P.O.V) 

After swiping her phone, I made off with the Red Fox's phone to return it to the others to analyse the data on the Red Fox's phone. By the time I got back to the compound, Natasha and Tony were waiting for me to hand it over so they could start hacking her phone. As I stood on the side while the two hacked the phone, the contents of the phone were revealed as mostly files on Hydra with six videos and four photos. An hour after Tony read everything on the Red Fox's phone, he held a meeting with everyone to discuss just who we were up against.

"Anna Homes: Commander of the 501st Battalion in the Allied Army during WWII. Served for three years before she was declared M.I.A when she was sent to extract vital substances called Vibranium - used for Cap's shield and other unknown properties that were lost when Commander Holmes was able to retrieve the frisbee. Since then, it's believed she became one of Hydra's best assassins, second to the Winter Soldier, until she went rogue somewhere in early 2015. Now, she's on the loose. This motel in North Carolina said that she was close, and after tonight, it's confirmed the Red Fox is here for something. And we need to find out what." Tony explained to the others and myself as I sat beside Sam. 

Steve got up and stood on the other side of the screen projecting the files on Hydra and the Red Fox's targets next to Tony where he also briefed us about the Red Fox's more personal details. "She's fast. She's very skilled. And quite frankly, she's extremely dangerous. Which is why if you have to engage, do not face her alone. You guys are capable of holding your own, but I'm giving you express orders to bring her in alive. We need to find out why she's targeting Hydra targets in the U.S." 

"Yeah, just like your old war pal, Bucky." 

Steve glared at Tony and ignored his innocent yet belligerently humorous behaviour. "In the worst case scenario: we'll have to put her down. She's far too dangerous, but I wanna find out what she knows first. We leave tomorrow at seven to bring her in. She's hiding in Hell's Kitchen so be prepared."

At the end of the meeting, everyone was dismissed to do what they wanted for the remainder of the seven hours we had before we had to go out for another mission. I stayed behind for a reason, which Steve seemed he wanted to know why I was hanging back. Maybe I found her more interesting than our first encounter. And maybe I wanted to understand her for her mission to destroy Hydra. She could be so much more than this. More than a killer. More than an experiment. I would know, after all. 

"You okay, Wanda?" Steve asked caringly. 

"F-Fine, Captain." I replied nervously. 

"She's a lot like you, you know. I can see why she's so interesting. But Wanda... you gotta understand that she isn't like anyone else we've ever encountered before. She can and will kill you if you're not careful." 

"I _am_ careful." I said arrogantly. "I can handle myself." 

"But you can't always rely on your magic. There'll come a time when you need to rely on your fists than your powers." 

I sighed. "Yeah..." 

"Get some sleep. We got a busy morning tomorrow." 

I did as I was told and made off to bed, thinking heavily about what nightmare I made her see. From this day on I swore to never use it on anyone again. Never again. Never.   
  


_The next day..._

  
(Anna P.O.V) 

The weather made no difference for the conditions of what I was going to do. Patiently, I waited for my target to arrive on schedule in an alleyway on my motorbike, waiting for the blue Genesis to drive past. Once it did, I turned on the ignition and slid my helmet over my head and drove off out of the decrepit alleyway to line up with the rest of the cars at the stoplights, only, I was waiting behind so I could get the driver while it was moving. When the light went green, I revved my bike and slowly drove up alongside the Genesis and tapped the window as I rode at the same pace alongside it. When the window rolled down, it was at that moment that I got flashbacks to the evening I killed the Stark's which temporarily dazed me before I reached my hand in and groped it around the driver's neck and squeezed his wind pipe shut until he fell unconscious. The driver placed his head on the horn which caused the car to honk as the car swerved left into oncoming traffic.

Coming to a halt, I got off my bike and slowly walked over to it with my handgun drawn and cocked as the backseat passenger opened the door before they fell onto their front and began to crawl away. I fired a bullet into their thigh, stopping them momentarily from crawling away from me so I could plant my foot on the wound and applied pressure to make them scream in agony while bystanders ran away in fear of being caught in a shoot-out. Sirens wailed in the distance as I made my way back to my bike and sped off along the main road when I detected a pursuer. A rider following me on a motor bike also, but in a dark blue uniform with a red, white and blue shield on the front of the bike. 

_"Avengers, perfect."_ I thought to myself. 

A jet flew over me which hovered as it flew backwards a little when a speaker blared out at me, ordering me to surrender. I continued to drive under the jet and went to turn a corner until I noticed myself stationary; wheels were still moving but I was hovering above the ground by three feet. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed the door of the jet opened where a red force projected by a red leather-dressed brunette captured me until I felt an electric shock hit me in my back. 

"AAAGGGGHHH!!!" I screamed agonisingly and fell off my bike, spasming as the electric shock stuck like a motherfucker until I passed out. 


	5. Chapter 5

(Wanda P.O.V) 

Now that we had the Red Fox in custody in the Avengers Tower, Steve had assigned Natasha to interrogate her before I too was sent to provide any support if necessary. Silently, I itched as Natasha entered the cell and sat opposite the brunette who had her head bowed, her hair covering her identity as she refused to fade her audacity. 

"Can you tell me who you are?" Natasha began to interrogate her, starting off with her identity. 

Red Fox remained silent as she maintained a strong, cold stare with Natasha. 

"We can do this all day if we have to. Just tell us what we need and we can let you go. Let you get back to your normal life. Give you a clean slate." 

"There is no clean slate for people like me," she said at last. 

"People like you? There's more?"

"Hm." She hummed. 

Red Fox clenched her fists and took a deep inhale, 

"You killed a lot of people. A pretty big body count. Over fifty assassinations in the past seventy years. Hydra got you when you were young. Even your own father. Why?" 

The brunette glanced up at Natasha and frowned at her. 

"I did not murder him." 

Natasha tapped her index and middle fingers on the file and stated that she did so with malicious and grievous intent. 

"I did not murder him." She said more sensitively. 

"I know what it's like to kill somebody. The thrill, the excitement, the blood on your hands--" 

The brunette slammed her fists on the table and bellowed, "I DID NOT MURDER HIM!! HE USED ME! I was nothing more than a guinea pig to him: something he could use to test his many experiments!" 

Natasha paused for a moment as to allow her to continue speaking. 

Red Fox shook her head and calmed down a little as she started to tell Natasha about herself. "He hated me. He treated me nothing more than a wild dog. He, he would chain me to a wall in a little cell - made me drink out of a dog bowl, fed me once a day... I despised him! I'm glad he's dead. I killed before, and I can do it again." 

"Did you know he was a Hydra scientist?" Natasha asked curiously as she tilted her head to the side a bit. 

The brunette raised her eyebrows and nodded her head. "I know about you too, Black Widow: what you are, who you worked for, what Madame B made you to be." 

I could tell Natasha tensed as she spoke, now turning the tables on her. Without making it look like she was fleeing in cowardice, Natasha announced that she was going to let her associate take over when suddenly I was called into the room to carry out the interrogation by much stronger tactics. When I entered the room, the brunette watched me intently as her thoughts read out to me very loudly. 

_"It's her... the female enhanced. Wanda Maximoff, was it? Hm. Not bad, for a Sokovian."_ Red Fox thought to herself, and to me. 

In the seat Natasha was just in, I took my place on the other side of the metal table and stared intently at the brunette. 

"Never done this before, have you? I'm afraid, not that afraid. I know what you can do. What you're capable of. If you're going to look in my mind and make me see my worst fear, then you're just doing anything but make me talk." Anna said coldly. 

Her comment surprised me, my eyebrows shot up at how unkind she was being before I even had the chance to speak to her. Normally, I didn't consider how cute my enemy's were when I was in the middle of fighting for our lives in the middle of a battle. As for her, I suppose I'd be lying to myself if I didn't think she wasn't strong-minded. 

"I have interrogated people before. People worse than you. People who want to take away people's freedom and kill loved ones and take away hope and love." I replied bitterly. "If you don't work for Hydra, who do you work for? Yourself? You think what you're doing is right? Taking the law into your own hands and kill dozens of people?" 

"Hey, at least what I'm doing is just. How I do it is something you shouldn't question. I do what must be done, while so-called heroes like you put scum in jail. You put them in jail, and they just walk out to commit crime again; to repeat that process while people die! These people got what they had coming!" 

"And you think there are no consequences to what you do?!" 

"Speak for yourself. You worked with Hydra yourself, and you almost destroyed humanity because of it. Your brother died because of it." She snarled. 

I recoiled from what she said as memories of me losing my family, my home, my brother, became a sensitive topic. A low blow. 

"How dare you?" I hissed as my eyes became watery. 

"Oh, yes. I know who you are, Maximoff. You worked for Strucker. Got your powers from him. And where did that lead you? Your brother dead and your people left with injustice!" 

"Stop it..." 

"And what did you do to avenge them? You sided with the people who killed them! Who took everything from you!" 

"Shut up!" 

"Me? I do it because I _enjoy_ it! Yeah. I learned the hard way what it's like to be manipulated, controlled, twisted into Hydra's greatest weapon. I lost things because of them! You have _no idea_ what it's like!" 

"Well, maybe I do!" I shot back. 

"No. You don't. Stop lying! You know jack _shit_ about Hydra! You only left them so you could hurt Stark! Well, look where that got you! He's dead! Pietro, is dead! And it's all your fault, Maximoff!" 

Anna leaned over the table, the corners of her lips curled into a sadistic smile as she continued to hit me sensitively until something stopped her. Something inside her made her realise how malicious she was being before she retracted from saying more as she leaned back in her seat, her hands still cuffed which stopped her from taking them off the table. I had to flee the room also as the emotional battle came into Anna's favour, which obviously I lost when she mentioned Pietro. 

"Wanda..." Steve called faintly, his voice trailed off as I stormed off to my room to cry away my sensitive memories.   
  


(Anna P.O.V) 

_"Was that too harsh? Yeah. Of course it was. I don't know what she's been through - I should not have brought him up. Now she hates me. Well, for the record, everybody does - what's new?"_ I thought to myself as a third interrogator entered the room, only, the one that did enter was somebody I was not expecting. "Steve? Steve, is that really you? Oh my God. You haven't changed a bit." 

Steve smiled faintly and rested his hands on the table. "Hey, Anna. It's... good to see you, were the circumstances not so..." 

"I think the word you're looking for is 'injustice'. I don't belong here. Not with the living. Not after what I've done." I said bitterly and bit my bottom lip. 

"Hey. It wasn't your fault. It was Hydra. All of it." 

"You don't know, Steve. What I, what I've done. Who I've hurt. The, the families I've torn apart, the faces of my victims play in my mind like a slideshow - all of it reminding me what kind of a monster I truly am. And look what I just did. I just scared off two of your best teammates. Am I right? And now you're here. Trying to hit close to home." 

Steve leaned over the table and spoke it a sweet, honeyed tone. "Anna, you _are_ home." 

I shook my head, my hair waving as I frowned and leaned back in my seat. "No, Steve. I'm not. I never was." 

"We can help you." 

"Oh yeah? The way I see it, you don't have the advancements to take the words out of my head. And I sincerely doubt the little witch can consent to peering into my deep, dark, mind. Not after what I just said." 

"You're saying that like you care. Like you used to." 

I shrugged my shoulders. "So, what... now I suddenly care about her? The woman who worked with _him?_ Strucker, of all people..." 

"Anna, I found him. I found Bucky." 

I froze, stiffened at the name. I hadn't seen nor heard of Bucky since my last mission for Hydra. 

"J-J-James? I-Is he...?" 

Steve shook his head. "Lost him some time ago, after S.H.I.E.L.D fell." 

"And you brought Hydra down with it. In Washington. You _do_ realise Hydra's everywhere, right? And they're not going anywhere anytime soon. If you found me. They will too. I know too much, Steve. I can't be here." I said anxiously and looked around the room, as if a squad of Hydra assassins were going to storm into the room and shoot me at point blank. 

"You don't have to be afraid anymore. We can protect you." 

I whipped my head back at him and stared coldly. "No. You can't. We're done here. Just, just take me somewhere and shoot me. Or put me in a hole. A deep, deep hole, where nobody can find me." 

"You know I can't do that." 

"Then get someone else to do it, Rogers." I snarled. 

Steve retracted from what I said and frowned heavily when a middle-aged man with a moustache entered the room. By the way he was dressed, I could easily distinguish him as a high-ranking senior soldier, senator or even secretary of the state. Most likely the latter, considering the access of clearance he had to come into a room with someone as dangerous and lethal as me inside. 

"So, this is the infamous Red Fox?" The man said deeply. "I thought you'd be harder to catch, after what you pulled earlier." 

"And you are?" I said calmly. 

"Ross. Secretary Thaddeus Ross. And you, little lady, are going somewhere you'll give nobody any bodies to count." 

"Who do you think you are, talking to _me_ like that? Do you realise who I am? What I'm capable of?" 

"I know exactly _what_ you are. A mindless assassin in custody." He said coldly. "And believe me, make things any harder than they have to, and I can guarantee you'll never see the light of day ever again." 

"Try me, bitch." 

The man tensed, obviously irate with my behaviour and almost motioned to call someone to shut me up for bad-mouthing the secretary of the state, but with Steve in the room, he wasn't going to let him touch me. Both Steve and Ross exited the room to speak in private for approximately two minutes before they returned to offer me a deal: join the Avengers or be put in jail for the rest of my life. I suppose one could tell what I was going to pick. 


	6. Chapter 6

(Steve P.O.V) 

It didn't take as long as I thought for Stark and Banner to build a cell just for the Red Fox. She was extremely dangerous. I still wasn't sure about granting Anna the ability of near freedom except the fact that she had to go into a containment room to house her. Already, three out of the eight of us didn't like her, including me. As for the rest, they somehow seemed unable to distinguish just how dangerous she was. Regardless, she would yet to prove herself an Avenger. But she wasn't hostile. She was surprisingly compliant with whatever we asked except things about her past and what she wanted out of all of this. The thing with her and Wanda seemed toxic, but I had hope she wouldn't end up killing the poor kid over a little mind warping. 

  
(Anna P.O.V) 

After a long, guarded walk, I was finally returned to my little room in the Avengers Tower where I was politely allowed to enter the cell made just for me. As per usual, the Black Widow was present to check up on me but not without concern over what I would say or do. I was indeed provoking. If it weren't for the Avengers, Ross would've ensured I got every worst kind of torture to extract the priceless information I had on me. But it also gave me time to think about redemption, if there even was anything worth fighting for. Maybe her. Maybe she was fighting for. No. She hates my guts. If I was gonna be apart of the team, I had to make one big apology. Fuck it. 

"Can someone let me out?! I wanna talk!" I yelled, repeating myself until someone heard me. 

The red android heard my cries and walked over quickly like a man on a mission and stood on the opposite side of a thick glass pane that was supposedly strong enough to contain me and anyone with cybernetic arms. 

"Yes?" The android spoke huskily. 

"Can ya let me out? I've made up my mind. I wanna be apart of your little boyband here." 

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Miss Holmes." 

"What?" 

"You are to remain in isolation within this cell for another six weeks before any form of--" 

"SIX WEEKS?! I'M GONNA SIT IN THIS DAMN CELL FOR SIX WEEKS?! SOMEBODY SHOOT ME NOW!!" 

A brown-haired man strolled towards us and asked what the fuss was. The cocky smile on Stark's face was something I needn't see this morning, despite him being my only way out of this damn cell. 

"What's she complaining about this time, V?" Tony faked a yawn. 

"Miss Holmes strongly requests a meeting be held in relation to her freedom from her cell," said Vision. 

Tony stared long and hard at me, probably considering keeping me in my cell. Suddenly, the Maximoff girl appeared and noticed Vision and Tony conversing with me and demanded to know what was going on. 

"We're gonna give her a chance; let her out and have her help the team." Tony answered confidently. 

"What, sudden chance of heart?" Wanda asked coldly. 

"Shut up." I shot back. 

"Before I let you out, I wanna know... Who killed your old man?" Tony asked curiously. 

My eyebrows shot up, surprised at his question, but I answered nonetheless. "My father had an associate: someone who would help him put his art of evil into practice; on me. He is the last person I must kill. It's because of him, that I'm a monster. I'm sure you're aware that he is the most lethal man in Hydra's ranks... Peter Herring." 

"Him?! Herring?! He's dead!" 

I scoffed. "No. He's not. You only _think_ he's dead, but he's not. He's hiding. Somewhere." 

"If you take us to Herring, maybe I can talk to Cap and convince him to let you join the team." 

Tony motioned to open my cell but paused as long as I agreed to his offer. 

_"Only_ if you behave; don't kill anyone on the team, play nice, _and_ if you kiss and make up with Teen Witch." 

I stole a glance at the brunette and frowned at her. My eyes drifted down to my hands and imagined the blood on them I had to clean. 

"Okay... I accept." I answered quietly. 

The cell was opened and I was allowed my freedom. Hesitantly, I stepped out slowly, taking deep breaths as I stepped outside the cell that reminded me all too much of the basement back home, and also for a fact that I was approaching the son of the man whom I murdered. Every impulse to lash out and make a run for it. But I really had no other choice anyway. They'd find me again - one way or another - and so would Hydra. Vision and Tony took took their leave so that I could apologise to Wanda. 

"I'm sorry about what I said before. I, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to hurt you, but... I-I don't really expect you to forgive me. And I'm sorry for what I said about your brother." I began, trailing off at the end as for some reason I felt very shy in being in her presence, considering how dangerous she was. 

Wanda remained silent, clearly not accepting my apology. But for some reason, she had this distinct look on her face like she was being decisive on whether to hate me or ignore me. 

"Fine. I accept your apology." She responded tightly, clearly lying. 

"Hey. I said I'm sorry, okay? Think whatever you like, but I mean every word when I say, 'I, am sorry'. I understand how strong your connection with your brother was, but... you were only trying to do what you thought was right." 

Wanda pursed her lips and slowly dropped her facade. Then, she bowed her head also and shot back up to apologise also for what she did to me the other night back at the bar. It seemed that it was biting at her too, even though what I said was worse, yet what she did to me was certainly at the top of the list of most horrible things to do to another human being, if that's what I was, anyway. 

"You had no right to do that to me. I was nice to you, and you took advantage of me. You manipulated me. Y-You could've just stunned me or-or something... but did you _really_ have to show me my worst fears?!" I snapped. 

"I'm sorry!" She yelled over me. "Look, just... please, forgive me because I'm willing to forgive you." 

I sighed heavily and nodded. 

"Come. I can show you to your room." 

Hesitantly, I followed her down a hall towards an elevator which took us down to the upper floors. Something about being in an elevator startled me to reflect on being trapped in such enclosed spaces. Not that I was claustrophobic, but I certainly didn't like the idea of being dominated and subjected to relentless torture. I was surprised that a room had been set just for me, considering that none of my stuff was inside. Without a second to appreciate her help, Wanda slammed the door shut, leaving me to grovel in a room I could call my own; the freedom to do whatever I wanted, and yet, it all felt so empty. I, felt empty. 


	7. Chapter 7

_A few days later..._

(Wanda P.O.V) 

Our guest seemed to slowly get accustomed to her new living arrangements, considering they were a big change to what she was used to. I wasn't sure if she even had a room that she stayed in for more than a day, but it was most certainly a surprise that I could relate to. Steve was still concerned about me after the interrogation, but more so about his 'friend' and his best friend Bucky Barnes. I could read Steve like an open book and see that he wanted to find Bucky and bring Anna happiness, just like the old days. I didn't like this more than the others, but I think they were all more than willing to pardon her for all her crimes.

Every now and then, I'd inconspicuously check up on Anna to see how she was doing. It only just occurred to me that I was now more cool minded in regards to what she said to me a few days ago when she first came to the tower. Apparently, she got accustomed quickly as it appeared she had adjusted to civilisation and purchased herself a guitar to play in her free time in between training and getting accustomed to helping everyone out around the tower. As I happened to be passing by her place, I heard something distinct coming from her room. The sound of a voice, singing. Stealth-like, I opened the door to her room and peered through the very thin gap and saw her playing a guitar she purchased after returning to humanity. 

"See me take my bows  
And I'm heading for the exits   
I can't stick around

This life's been hard   
And I can't see the sense in fighting it anymore   
Can't you let me go?  
Won't you show me the door? 

'Caise I've made mistakes   
That have hurt the ones I have loved   
And I've thrown them under the bus   
One too many times 

There can be no redemption for a sinner such as I   
Won't you wish me to the cornfields now  
Won't you help me stop living a lie 

So here I am in the corner of a dark room  
The same way I began; alone   
With these mournful thoughts   
And a loaded gun in my hand 

But a foolish part of me   
Still holds out for a shred of humanity  
For a queen in a robe, or a knight on a steed  
Can't you see that I"m just a child on his knees?! 

Save me from fear and pain  
And love will rain on me  
Save me today  
Before tomorrow  
Find me at rest

Save me from fear and pain  
And love come down and rain on me  
Save me today   
Before tomorrow  
Find me at rest

Now I"m standing alone, in the moment of truth  
As the judgement's handed down   
And my feet are scarred from the broken glass  
Strewn across the ground

Then you come to my side  
And only to you I confide   
That I've been bettered and shattered; and bruised and abused   
For the very, very last time 

Won't you help me, just   
Save me from fear and pain  
And love rain on me  
Save me 

Save me today   
Before tomorrow   
Find me at rest 

Save me from fear and pain   
And love will rain on me  
Save me, today   
Before tomorrow, Find me at rest  
Find me at rest..." 

As the strings of the guitar ceased its vibrations, I noticed her hand itch for something on the bed she sat on, but visually hidden from my line of sight. My heart dropped in my chest and I felt dread course through me as I pounced through the door at Anna and used my magic to restrain her free hand from aiming the weapon at her head. 

"ANNA, NO!!" I cried as I grabbed the handgun and threw it across the room towards the bathroom and threw my arms around her as she dropped her guitar and started shaking tremendously like she was naked and left in the cold of a snow forest. 

"NO! LET ME GO!!" Anna screamed and shook violently to escape my grip. 

She was sobbing horribly, my attempts to restrain her became harder and harder as all I could do was succumb to her superior strength that threw me off her until she made a dash for her gun. Without a second to waste, I shot my arm out and used my powers to entrance her and render her unconscious without a second to spare. Natasha, Vision, Tony and Steve all bursted into the room to investigate the noise and spotted me holding Anna in my arms. 

"What happened?" Steve questioned. 

"S-She tried t-to grab the gun..." I answered in a stutter. "I-I... she almost..." 

"Hey, it's okay." Natasha cooed and knelt down beside me. 

"Vision, keep an eye on her. Call me when she wakes up, send Wanda to her room. Steve, get her to the infirmary." 

Steve did as he was told as he approached me and lifted Anna up in his arms and carried her off to the infirmary to get treated. I could tell she was scared, afraid, alone. As soon as Anna was rested within a hospital bed, I remained by her side and looked inside her mind to see what frightened her into attempting suicide. Inside her mind, I found volatility; the constant struggle she was going through in her past: what Hydra made her to be and what they made her do. I could sympathise her struggle, but suicide was something I was not willing to do. I could sense the phantoms that haunted her - the blood on her hands.

"Oh, Anna... please, be strong." I cooed as I ran my fingers through her hair as I gave her a lovely dream in the meantime. 


	8. Chapter 8

A few hours after the incident with Anna, Vision still refused to leave my company and that of Anna's in regards to Stark's orders. Nonetheless, I ignored his company and continued to hold my attention solely on Anna. Oh, how I'd fallen for her. But from enemies to friends, I'm confident we could accept that, but friends to lovers? No way could she love someone like me. Even after the hours I spent by her side, I still wanted to leave before she woke up but seeing her so fragile made my heart crack. Without even realising, I was biting my thumb nail in anticipation of her waking up, yet that was something she would not do. Bruce didn't seem to like her at all, yet Thor was the one who almost immediately grew accustomed to her company, considering the God occupied himself mostly through eating Pop Tarts and gallivanting New York without the sense of being casual or incognito. 

I could practically feel everyone's uneasiness with Anna being on the team, considering how much Steve and Natasha didn't like her. Yet, Steve wanted to help her, but felt he couldn't. In this case, it seemed I was the only one who could help her: get over her nightmares and accomplish redemption for the horrors she'd committed. It would be very tough, getting over endless murders, but I could not sympathise. Though, worse things would come if Ross dared to intervene. And yet, I was scared of him too. 

  
(Anna P.O.V) 

_"What'cha doin', punks?" Bucky chuckled as he placed his arm across Steve's back and the other across mine, holding the two of us closely against him._

_"Wondering why the hell you're not going back for deployment?" I answered sarcastically._

_"Aww, c'mon, doll. You know you love me."_

_I scoffed. "I would rather kiss a donkey."_

_Bucky removed his arms from us and acted hurt._

_"Easy, Ann. You know what he's like," Steve warned me. "He doesn't like it when you talk about his mother like that."_

_"Hey..." Bucky groaned, grinning as he slapped Steve's shoulder and squeezed before stuffing his hands in his pockets. "But seriously. You really think they'll take you seriously in there? They are gonna eat you alive."_

_I frowned at them, knowing that what Bucky said was true, yet I had Peggy to look up to in confidence. "I know what I'm doing, boys. I can handle myself. Besides, I got Peggy to look after me. Us girls gotta stick together. As for you two... start working on getting those applications through, little Stevie."_

_Steve laughed nervously. "I'll try, Anna."_

_"And besides, who knows? Maybe I'll make commander and be the boss of you, hey, Buck?"_

_"In your dreams, punk." Bucky laughed heartily._

_"But seriously... I love you guys. You're both like my brothers: Steve's that little brother - obviously, considering he's small--"_

_"Hey..."_

_"And Bucky, 'cause he's that annoying, ladies-man of a big brother who only wants the best for both of us."_

_"And no matter what..."_

_"We're with you..."_

_"Till the end of the line..."_

  
My happy memory disbanded as my consciousness brought me back to reality. A cold spot was left to the right side of my bed like something used to belong there. A small crease in the bedsheets was left there, but it didn't disturb my comfort in where I laid even though it could've done with another layer or two. As if on cue, the door to the infirmary opened and a doctor entered the room. 

"D-D-Doctor Ba--" I grunted as I struggled to sit up from the lingering pain in my right shoulder. 

"Don't speak." Bruce replied nervously. "You had a pretty messed up psychological affair earlier. So far, we can make the call it's a... All I can say is you, you need counselling for your depression. You're pretty inflicted with PTSD - you're gonna have... episodes, like, " 

"I... I don't remember much after... What happened?" 

Bruce hesitated to answer as a nurse came into the room to take my blood. 

"Where's Wanda? I, I don't... She was with me, I think?" W-W-Well... she, she was the one that found you and brought you here. I, I can probably get her if you..." 

"Y-Yes please." I stammered, my heart racing at the thought of having Wanda with me. 

Bruce nodded and left the room so to fetch Wanda while the nurse checked my blood pressure and other such things until Wanda arrived. When the brunette appeared at the doorway, I instantly felt my cheeks get warm at the sight of her. 

"H-H-Hi..." Wanda waved shyly. 

"Hi. Wanna sit?" 

I patted the empty space on my bed and smiled reassuringly at her to show her that I wasn't going to bite. Eventually, she came over and sat on the bed beside me, her fingers playing with the rings on her fingers. 

"How are you holding up?" She spoke softly, almost in a whisper. 

"Fine, thanks. I hear you saved me. I-I don't remember much of what happened, but... you saved me, Wanda." 

She chuckled nervously. "That's what heroes do, I guess." 

"No. Not heroes. Friends." 

Her eyes widened as she probably didn't expect me to consider or call her my friend after the things we said to each other. But I guess this counted as making up for it all. As discreetly as she could, she shuffled closer slightly closer every now and then until I ruined her confidence by grabbing her hand and held it lightly in my hand. Wanda froze, so shocked at the kind gesture that she started to become a nervous wreck. 

"Thank you, Wanda. Really." I purred as I began to stroke her hand with my free hand. 

"Glad I could help. Hey, Anna..." 

"Yeah?" 

"You're not the monster they made you to be. It was all Hydra. You know that, right? They made you do those things, not you." 

Pursing my lips, and diverted my eyes from her to look down at my hands - hands that had slightly less blood on it than before, now. 

"If you were in my position... what would you do?" I asked timidly. 

Wanda pondered on my question and shrugged her shoulders. "I would talk to someone I trust and talk it over so I can get over it." 

"You trust me? After the stuff I did - can do? - I don't want to hurt you, or-or Steve, or anyone." 

Wanda threw her hands up to my cheeks and held my head in place firmly. "You won't. I know you won't. You're not what they made you anymore, Anna." 

I tilted my head a little and smiled nervously. "Yeah, well..." 

Bravely, Wanda crashed her lips against mine for a few seconds before pulling away when her face became full of shock. She backed away, her face flushed in embarrassment as I simply stared at her, admiring her beauty and her bravery for making the first move so quickly. 

"Oh my God... I-I'm sorry, I... I don't know what came over me." She said shamefully and jumped up from the bed, quickly itching closer towards the door. 

"Wanda... Wanda, wait--" I spoke, trailing off when she darted out of the room. 

Pulling the sheets off me, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up when the nurse stopped me from doing so as she commanded me to remain in the bed to rest. Admittedly, I should have stayed in the bed because my legs were wobbly and my head was beginning to spin. 

"Wanda..." 

My vision became distorted, my legs beginning to give in as I had to hold onto the walls for support as I began to limp from the infirmary towards the elevator down the hall. I could barely focus on the person running down the hall since my vision was waving around like crazy. 

"Wanda..." I panted, my tongue licking my lips to taste her chapstick. 

"Oh my God..." I heard a woman say faintly at the moment I fell forward onto my front as I began to crawl. "ANNA!!" 

With one last breath before I passed out, I said her name until I fell into unconsciousness. 


	9. Chapter 9

(Natasha P.O.V) 

"What the hell happened?" I demanded as I watched Wanda lift Anna up and carry her back to the infirmary where the nurse came along to assist. 

It looked like Wanda was having a panic attack when she saw how weak and vulnerable Anna became when she tried leaving the infirmary. The nurse and Bruce checked Anna's vitals and for something that made her collapse. Wanda was so afraid for her. But there was something more important that had to be done. As much as it pained me to remove Wanda from Anna's side, we had a mission to undergo. 

"Wanda, we gotta go for a mission. We're running late. C'mon." I ushered her. 

"No. I want to stay. I'm not leaving her." She responded defiantly. 

"Wanda, we're wasting time." 

Reluctantly, Wanda followed me out to get dressed in our uniform so to head out for the mission to Shanghai we were really late for. Without another second to waste, Wanda and I made off to the Quinjet to undergo the mission that we had approximately 14 hours remaining to complete. 

  
(Steve P.O.V) 

After Natasha pried Wanda away from Anna's bedside, I took her place, seeing as how I was the only other company she appreciated - despite how much of a dick I was acting earlier. Anna seemed to be recovering very well, despite how pale her skin was. By the time she woke up, she seemed surprised to see me sitting beside her. The colour of her eyes still shone brightly as we chatted like old times - before we enlisted, before everything changed. 

"... and you'd put newspapers in your shoes to make you look taller." Anna giggled profusely as I helped cut up her steak while she fed herself the small pieces on her fork. 

"And you'd put scrunched up socks in your bra to make your.... um, y-y-you know... t-them, bigger." I countered. 

"Ohh, that's uncalled for. C'mon. It's not like I'm saying you or Bucky stuff pears in your panties to make your bulge bigger." 

I bowed my head to hide my expression as I cringed at what she said and looked back up at her until I could hide that smile. "That was, one time, Anna. One time." 

"Where'd Wanda go?" She asked after several minutes of silence. 

I hesitated to respond to her asking, seeing as how it was a mission she wasn't authorised to know. And yet, I couldn't help but feel a bit of chemistry brew between her and Wanda. After all, she was my other best friend - the only other person I trusted besides Natasha - and yet she knew there was no way I'd get through hiding something from her. She knew me all too well. 

"She's on a mission to Shanghai with Nat. Their orders are to extract a package and exfiltrate within approximately nine hours and forty-three minutes ago. The package was told to be a Hydra mole operating in China who's willing to tell us everything about what Hydra's up to." 

"Have you heard anything?" 

Steve honed his ears on the heart monitor running a few beats faster. 

"Steve? Have you heard anything?" Anna repeated. 

"Nothing yet. They should be back in a couple hours. Don't, don't get too excited. Need to take it easy, you know. I don't need you having another blackout." 

Anna scoffed as she took a sip of some water. "I'm not gonna have another blackout." 

"Or are you gonna have another moment with butterflies in your stomach for Wanda?" 

My little comment made her choke on her water. Suddenly, I became a little worried and started patting her back as she covered her mouth with one hand and coughed hard before she cleared her throat four times until she settled. 

"So... you gonna ask her out?" I asked coolly. 

She looked at me wide-eyed, shocked at my asking. "I-I-I dunno if she's even into girls." 

"That's a lie, and you know it. I've been watching you two for the past few days, and I can already tell there's a lot of sexual tension between you two." 

"There is _not_ any sexual tension between us, Steve! You have no idea what you're talking about." 

"I think we'll find out soon enough." 

  
(Third Person) 

As if on cue, the A.I, J.A.R.V.I.S came through the speakers and reported that both Natasha and Wanda had not returned to the tower as expected for their estimated arrival. Anna fell into a panic while Steve struggled to keep the girl from climbing out of bed as a possible setback, despite nobody knowing that they were indeed in danger. Anna demanded that Steve let her go help but he already ordered her to remain put as he told her she wasn't ready nor was she authorised to go out on missions yet. 

"Steve! I'm ready! Let me help!" Anna cried as she crawled out of her bed and found much strength within her as she balanced easily on her bare feet. 

"No, you're not. You're not in shape, you're not well, Anna!" Steve argued. 

"I'm fine! Really! C'mon, Steve! You asked me if I liked Wanda. Well, here's your answer: yes. I like her. Even though we might've said some nasty shit to each other before, we've made up... kinda. Sorta. M-My point is... I fancy her, okay? I. Like. Wanda. Now, will you let me go with you?!" 

Steve sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Fine. Okay, fine. You can come along. But gear up fast." 

Anna almost squealed like a schoolgirl and made her way to the changing room so she could gear up in a special uniform Natasha and Tony devised just for her. Without another moment to waste, Anna changed into her new gear faster than she ever had before and made off to find Steve in the hangar where he and Anna would go to extract their allies. 

  
(Natasha P.O.V) 

"What was your mission in Shanghai?" My interrogator asked as me as he used my baton against me and jabbed it at my stomach, running an electric current through my body which made me spasm. 

"Stop! Stop it!!" Wanda cried helplessly as her skin glistened with her sweat. 

The interrogator spun around and looked down at Wanda before slapping her cheek. 

"Leave her alone, you sick bastard!" I screamed and stomped my feet. 

"WHAT WAS YOUR MISSION?!" The interrogator yelled over us and grabbed Wanda by her hair and forced her to look up as the ceiling light kept us both just under its shine. 

The man recoiled after Wanda spat in his face. He barked in Mandarin to people outside of the interrogation room where Wanda and I were untied yet forced out of the room and thrown into our separate cells. Silence overtook everything, faint drips of water hit the ground, splashing as rats scurried outside of the cells. 

"Wanda? You okay, sweetheart?" I called out into her cell. 

Wanda failed to reply because the guards barked at us in Mandarin to shut up. This wasn't my first time in this situation, but it was Wanda I was scared for. 

"Do you think she's okay?" Wanda asked, her voice echoing a little. 

I paused, unsure of just what to say exactly without worrying her. "Yeah. She's one tough cookie. So... I think, I think she's wondering where the hell we are. In fact, it seems to me you're both worried about each other. You know what? It makes me think... you two must really like each other." 

Even though we were both in separate rooms, I could sense her tension and uneasiness as surely enough, she certainly was embarrassed over it. 

"I-I-I-I don't think she's into girls." Wanda stammered. 

"Wanda, you sat by her bedside nonstop. I think that shows that she'll appreciate your commitment." 

"S-S-She knows?" 

The cell door banged as the guards barked at us to shut up once again. 

"Bang that door once more and I'll snap your neck!" I growled in irritation of how annoying they were being. 

I heard one guard stifle a laugh while the other barged into my cell and started mocking me before motioning to hit me. The blow never came, since it was part of my plan to lure him in. This allowed me to grab ahold of his arm and twisted it before punching his face twice, instantly making his nose bust with blood before slamming his face into the wall and grabbed the keys before going to knock out the other guard who wasn't prepared for me chopping my hand at his throat and threw his face down on my knee before I rushed to free Wanda. Before I even stepped into the room, Wanda curled up into a ball, her hair hiding her face as she shivered in fear. 

"Wanda, Wanda! It's me. C'mon. We're getting out of here." I ushered her which instantly made her snap out of her state of fear into relief when she realised it was me approaching her and not the guards. 

She nodded my way and got up as I worked to get us both out and call for help. Guards weren't on alert just yet, which meant we still had time before we really had to hurry, considering our state right now, we didn't have much time to spare. The control room was just down this very large hall, guards scattered everywhere on the first, second, third and fourth floors, yet the giant gate at the opposite end was wide open. Wanda began to heave, I noticed her eyes glowing red with rage; her jaw clenched, her eyebrows scrunched together to form more of a frown as she raised her arms out and focused on the walls and scaffolding to tear it all down, bringing down debris on the guards below while the guards on top crumbled down also.

Wanda whipped her head at me and said, "Let's go," morosely. 

"Okay..." I replied nervously. 

Using her magic powers again, Wanda levitated us over the rubble so we were right in front of the gate where snow blew wildly on account that we were in a supermax prison stranded on a mountain in the Kunlun Mountains. Before even stepping outside, it got really cold, and for the fact that there were outposts making our escape harder, the cable cars was our objective. Together, Wanda and I attacked the outposts, putting the remainder of the prison on alert - more guards were deployed to subdue us - while we struggled to get past the bridge before we could blow it up. While I hid in a tower, sniping the guards up ahead while Wanda used her magic, a helicopter flew above us and started running a turret at us. A jet zoomed past us as well, higher over the jet where a person skydived their way into said helicopter and disabled the back rotor, causing it to spiral out of control while the ground patrol became distracted over the helicopter threatening to crash down on them. A body jumped out of the helicopter, fortunately landing down on a soldier and quick-drawed the four guards around them. Another person came along, a frisbee bouncing off of two as the two entrapped the guards until they were all unconscious except one who was having his face bashed in. 

"Anna. Anna! ANNA! Enough!" Steve shouted at the brunette slamming a walkie-talkie in his face. 

Wanda approached Anna and placed her hand on her shoulder which startled Anna to shove Wanda backwards, her bloodied hand wound back, ready to punch until she realised it was Wanda trying to calm her down. The second she identified Wanda was when she calmed down and dropped the walkie-talkie before she went to hug her. 

"Good God, I'm glad you're safe!" Anna exhaled in relief and tightened her hug on Wanda as she embraced it. 

"I missed you!" Wanda replied, ignoring the bloodied hand staining her prison clothes. 

Anna pulled away a little and cupped her cheeks. "Are you okay? Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Sick bastards, they hit you! I'll kill 'em. I'll kill every single one of them! I'll be right back..." 

"Anna, pull back! We're retreating to the Quinjet." Steve commanded. 

Reluctantly, she agreed and took Wanda's hand as the two rushed off to the Quinjet while Steve and I jogged after them, talking about how the mission went. Of course, he and I both knew it was a shambles: target was shot clean through the head and Wanda and I were ambushed. 

  
(Anna P.O.V) 

While Steve and Natasha took their time getting back to the jet, I took the time to clean up as well as Wanda's cheek which I bloodied. Once the others arrived, Natasha piloted the jet to take us back to New York while I assessed the brunette's visible injuries. Despite me mentally talking to myself, cursing the guards who tortured Wanda, I knew full well that she was probably reading my every thought. I didn't care. As long as she was safe, then I was happy. Then, it hit me. Another episode of trauma from my time in war being a P.O.W of Hydra and getting abused by my father and Hydra scientists and the guards there who took joy in beating a defenceless little girl. 

"Anna? Anna, are you okay?" Wanda cooed, immediately snapping me out of my thoughts. "Hey. I'm here. You're okay, now, understand me? Nobody's going to hurt you." 

"But, but they hurt you. I could've saved you sooner." I said weepily and bowed my head. "I-If I wasn't locked up in that damn bed, I could've gone with you. I, I could have prevented this: you getting hurt, those sick bastards hurting that pretty little face of yours--" 

"What?" 

I looked up at her in shock in realisation of what I said and froze. 

"I want to hear you say it. From the heart. Do you love me?" 

Tensely, I licked my lips nodded faintly. "I, I do." 

"Well, good. Because I love you too." 

Wanda giggled and wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling us against each other while I had mine around her neck as we pressed our lips against each other's and kissed with a fiery passion; she kissed me like she knew just how I liked it; I kissed her just how she wanted to be kissed, to be loved. In my heart, I knew that we were both made for each other: a match made in heaven. 


	10. Chapter 10

"... didn't need to kill him. I said, 'don't kill anybody'. You dislocated his jaw! You need to control what you do, Anna." Steve rebuked me for going crazy earlier.

"Oh, but what I do is animalistic?! Crazy?!" I snapped back.

"You know what I'm trying to say. You gotta control yourself."

"He was going to say the code words, Steve."

Steve rolled his eyes at me, not buying my story.

"Come on, Steve! You know me better than that. He, he was one of them, too. He was Hydra."

Only now did he snap out of his selfishness and accepted that I was indeed telling the truth. No way could I fake being this desperate. When he bought it, he frowned at me and closed the gap between us to hug me. Last time we hugged like this, I nearly broke his back on account on how fragile skinny Steve used to be. After the hug, I returned to my room and stood in the middle of the sullen silence, emptiness filled the room as the void let out a very soft high pitched ringing. A knock came at my door, disrupting my concentration where a brunette stood at my door, leaning on one leg as the black outfit she wore made her look depressed but also stunningly beautiful.

"Hey." She greeted me.

"Hi. Heh. Gee. Last time we were in my room, I nearly shot myself. Now, I think we're about to confess our feelings and shit." I responded nervously on account I was in the presence of an angel, and I was the demon.

"Are, you okay? You seem..."

"Sad? Psshyeah. I just... I-It's nothing."

Wanda frowned at me and entered my room, the door still wide open as she pressed herself against me and hugged me. I froze a little, surprised at her action where I caught a whiff of her hair shampoo. The sweet smell that stunk off her which tickled my nose hairs. She was gorgeous. She was perfect. She was... my happiness.

"Thank you for coming for me." Wanda whispered, her head still resting underneath my chin.

"O-Of course. I'm not the only other person who cares about you, you know." 

She removed her head from my chest and stared up at me, a frown plastered on her face in concern for my well-being.

"You know... Steve told me what you did. A-And I think it was very noble of you. But, you do realise you don't have to hide your feelings for me."

I froze, completely taken aback at what she said. Her breasts squashed against mine as her hands groped downwards towards my bottom. Regardless, I rolled with it and pecked my lips on hers before pulling away in shame for initiating such a crappy kiss with my crush.

"I'm sorry. I'm, I am so, so sorry, Wanda." I apologised frantically and placed one hand on my forehead, the other crossed underneath my breasts.

A hand rested on my shoulder which pulled me to turn around as Wanda cupped my cheeks and smiled brightly at me, her cheeks reddened as she bit on her bottom lip and slowly inched closer to my face. 

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this?" I asked hesitantly, my finger on her lips to stop her from initiating the second kiss. 

"Go with what?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Being with someone like me. I, I mean... I'm dangerous, Wanda. There are dangerous people after me. Because of the enemies I've made, that paints a giant target on your back. They could get to me through you. A-And if they hurt you, or-or something, I... I would lose myself forever. I mean, I trust you. I trust Steve. I trust the Avengers." 

"Then you have every reason to know that I am safe with you. Nobody would dare harm you - they would have me to answer to." She responded confidently. 

This only made me love her more as my bravery in showing her my love and appreciation increased twofold, enough to make me deliver a much stronger kiss. Wanda moaned in surprise of me acting so hastily to taste her lips until she drove into it and passionately traced my tongue around hers as I coaxed it into my mouth before softly sucking on it. This made Wanda groan pleasurably as I bit her bottom lip and softly tugged on it as I pulled away and kissed down her chin to her neck then slowly back up as I nibbled along, leaving traces of my lips all over her. As she went in for another kiss, I stopped her by pressing my index and middle finger on her lips, surprising her as to why I delayed another kiss from her. I grinned at her and moved away to play some Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra on Spotify to coax her into enjoying the romanticism with me. I took her hand and walked backwards as I led her to my bed and bit my bottom lip in excitement before she pushed me onto the bed onto my back and crawled on top of me and kissed me a little more before straddling my waist and planted her warm hand on my breast and started fondling it to her desire. From there, things took off as she and I removed out tops and continued to make out to have a helluva lesbian fuck. 


	11. Chapter 11

_Eleven months later..._

(Wanda P.O.V) 

It was safe to say that Anna was officially part of the team, but there was still work to be done - considering Ross still demanded her usefulness in eliminating Hydra targets as a way to redeem herself - and yet there was something still being hidden, eating Anna alive. But I could not put my finger on it. I trusted her to tell me when she was ready, in return I wouldn't go snooping around her mind. But I was sure glad she was back on her feet. It had been months since she was last in action, and now, we were doing it together - the best duo Natasha has ever seen. I could tell she and Steve were still anxious of finding their old war buddy, Bucky Barnes. 

Once we returned to the tower after a long mission in Tijuana, Vision, Thor, Sam, Stark, Steve, Natasha, Anna and I exited the Quinjet to return to our quarters to clean up before filling out a mission report. Anna helped me cook some chicken paprikash as our dinner while we swayed to music. I adored her as she swayed her hips side to side, grooving to the music so much that she only took the time to make sure the food didn't get burnt while I added spices to make it better. 

"You're so cute," said Anna. 

I smiled brightly at her, my cheeks feeling a little warm at her flirt when she turned off the stove to wrap one arm around my waist and the other to take my hand so she could make us dance. I couldn't help but giggle at her adorableness and went along with it as we waltzed around the kitchen island twice before she held me firmly so she could tip me backwards before pulling me back up so fast that we accidentally crashed our lips against each other's. She and I tensed, shocked at what just happened until an unknown presence startled us to return to preparing our dinner. 

"Hey, Sam." Anna greeted our friend. 

Sam tipped his head downwards to us. "Ladies. What's that smell?"

"Cooking chicken paprikash. It's a dish Wanda's mother taught her. So, she's going to give me a taste." 

I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Maybe I'll get a chance to taste you too, _dragoste."_

Anna inhaled sharply, her eyes widened as she let out a nervous chuckle and turned her back to him. 

"You are, just... so perfect. In every way." Anna cooed to me before she filled up two bowls and took hers to the table. 

She and I sat directly opposite each other while Sam took his leave after retrieving an iced coffee and retreated to his room. In Sam's absence, I half focused on my food since I stretched my leg to rub my bare foot against her calf. I felt Anna tense as I teased her further by licking my lips at her and sent flirtatious looks her way as I raised my foot up to rub her thigh whilst I continued to eat without a care. 

"B-B-Babe... w-what are you doing?" Anna asked coyly. 

"C'mon. Don't tell me the fearsome Red Fox suddenly succumbs to having her legs rubbed?" I teased her. 

"We've only just started our meal and now you're telling me you want dessert?" 

Innocently, I shrugged my shoulder and smacked my lips at the soup I drank with ease without worry of it being too hot. Until we finished our meals, I became too impatient and took Anna's hand after we washed up and practically skipped off to our shared room so I could pleasure her with deep, passionate, slobbery kisses and lots of other sexual stuff to end the night. 

  
(Third Person) 

To Anna, her love, Wanda seemed her escape to the better life, but unbeknownst to anyone, her past would soon come back to haunt her, like it almost did upon Natasha and Wanda's rescue from prison eleven months ago. Only this time, it would take its toll on her relationship with her girlfriend and her team. Though she still blamed herself for every murder Hydra forced her to commit, there was one in particular that would resurface and potentially disassemble the Avengers forever... Could Anna prevent this; or would she accept the truth and try to reconcile while she still could? 


	12. Chapter 12

_Two weeks later..._

On a cloudy Thursday afternoon, Tony Stark was not particularly having the best of days as worry gnawed at him. It was the anniversary of his parents' death and yet he struggled to get over the fact that his left arm was giving him troubles since he first got hit by a tank round during his early years as Iron Man. Now, Tony realised he was off his game, struggling to even do the simplest of tasks without getting majorly upset and taking his anger out on himself. Then, later that day, a mysterious package was delivered to the Avengers, addressed to Tony and Anna personally. A storm was brewing, but it was not the handiwork of the God of Thunder and Lightning. Steve, Natasha, Wanda, Anna and Tony were present to discover the contents of the mysterious package left by someone claiming to be Anna Holmes. What made it more frightening was the handwriting which was impeccably uncanny to that of Anna's - as if she'd written and delivered the package herself but forgot for what purpose? 

Deep down, Anna knew what it was. Somehow, she knew - she knew it was Hydra's doing; haunting her, scaring her into her state of fear and depression. Fear got to the brunette. She was certainly scared of Tony's reaction as well as the others, mostly Wanda's as video footage of her cold, monstrous alias the Red Fox would reveal what kind of a cold-blooded murderer she was to the eyes of her sweet, loving, adoring girlfriend whom Anna assumed would hate her and not love her anymore. Everyone gathered by a large screen which played the tape. All were anxious to see its contents when the video started. A road with an exact date and time: 7:00 PM, Dec 16 1991. It instantly hit Tony that that very road was the one where his parents' bodies were found in the car crash. 

"I know that road..." Tony muttered, his breathing becoming a little faster as everyone wondered what Tony was afraid of. 

Then, a car crashed into a wall, the bumper totally destroyed as the hood was bent, smoke sizzled out as the car settled on the screen of the black and white footage. Then, a lone bike rider pulled up behind the car and dismounted. A middle-aged man crawled out, begging the stranger to help despite there not being anyone to save him from his imminent demise. 

"That's your father?" Natasha spoke nervously. 

Tony remained dead silent, his attention fully on the screen as the assailant's face was still hidden due to the darkness but their posture and build was similar to that of Anna Holmes which Tony mentally noted. The assassin, being Anna, grabbed Howard Stark by his hair and raised him up when he identified the culprit who froze, puzzled at how the man recognised the assassin. 

_"Commander Holmes?"_ Howard panted. 

Tony's heart sank in his chest, now preturbed at being in the company of his parents' murderer. 

_"Howard? Howard!"_ Maria cried helplessly, her body paralysed from the crash, unable to move but only to cry. 

All were shocked to see Anna as the person responsible for Tony's parents not making it to the airport. Mortified by this, Tony glanced at the brunette, teeth clenched until he forced himself to look back at the screen where Anna punched Tony's father in the face until she was sure he was dead. Anna then grabbed Howard's body and placed him back into the driver's seat to make it look like he crashed before she wandered around to strangle Maria with a dead expression on her face, almost as if there was a hint of satisfaction when she silenced the older woman. The video ended with Anna walking over to the camera and emptying a single cartridge into it to disable the feed. The team stood cautiously, inconspicuously backing away whereas Steve stood beside Tony and Wanda somewhat in front of Anna as if to protect her. When Tony motioned to approach Anna, Steve placed his hand on Tony's chest, stopping him from lashing out at the already sobbing brunette. 

"No, Tony." Steve whispered. 

Tony then looked back at Steve and gave him a pleading look when he asked, "Did you know?" 

Steve hesitated before replying. "I didn't know it was her." 

"Don't bull _shit_ me, Rogers! Did you know?" 

"Yes." 

Betrayal ran deeper as Tony felt deceived, taking a step back in horror when he looked back over at Anna who was balling her eyes out. Wanda looked over at her girlfriend, unsure of how to proceed except to console her. 

"Please don't hate me." Anna wept in a hush voice. "I'm a monster... I'm sorry. I'm, I'm so sorry. I didn't... I didn't want to..." 

"But was it you who carried it out?" Clint questioned. 

The brunette glanced at him and shook her head before laying her eyes on an enraged Tony. "Tony, I..." 

"It was you... This whole time, it was, _you!_ I looked after you! I gave you a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear; and you didn't tell me?!" Tony snapped. 

"Tony, you're overreacting. Just breathe," said Natasha. 

"Back off, Romanoff!" 

Anna took a few steps back as tears continued to run down her cheeks. 

"I'm sorry!" Anna cried. 

"Get out, of my way." Tony muttered, his eyes glistening with tears and fury. 

Steve placed his hand on his chest and said, "Tony, you need to relax--" 

"Relax?!" Tony scoffed as he shook his head in disbelief. "I don't care. She killed my mom." 

"Tony, wait--"

Tony summoned two repulsors and went to blast Anna when Wanda jumped in front of Anna and conjured a barrier to stop Tony from harming her when Steve and Natasha held Tony back as he squirmed and wriggled in a fit of rage. While everyone had their attention solely on Tony, Wanda's attention was momentarily taken so Anna could flee, which she did not notice. The scarlet witch pursued her to the elevator where she called out her name to try and help, but Anna was not listening, only focusing on escaping as quickly as she could. Tony managed to break free and pursued Anna in his full Iron Man suit and ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y - the Avengers' A.I - to stop the elevator. Without giving any regards for the maintenance of the tower, Tony bursted through and tackled Anna, ramming her through walls and doors until Anna found herself and Tony in a large chamber with a hole in the ceiling that allowed moonlight to shine through. 

"T-T-Tony, we can talk about this!" Anna pleaded when he shot a repulsor at her which she dodged with ease. 

"You killed my parents!" He spat accusingly. 

"I'm sorry!" 

"No, you're not..." 

Anna noticed something peculiar about Tony's face. His eyes had changed colour and the corners of his mouth extended to his ears, forming a big grin as his beard disappeared and his hair grew longer, his skin paling. The floor beneath them moulded away like ash from where a red book with a black star on it merged on a block that rose out of the ground. Hesitantly, Anna approached it when the book shot open and a voice boomed, words being spoken in Russian: code words used to trigger her alternate state as the Red Fox, Hydra's top assassin. The voice mocked Anna and taunted her, spitting heinous words that she was responsible for her own grief and that she should have died when she had the chance. 

(Natasha P.O.V) 

"Is she okay?" Steve asked concerningly. 

Wanda pulled out of Anna's mind and looked up at Steve with tears in her eyes and shook her head. "Something is wrong. A-And I don't know how I can help her. Whatever is haunting her... I, I cannot fix." 

"We'll find a way, Wanda." 

"I-If I hadn't run off, she wouldn't be in a coma." Wanda sobbed and bowed her head, one hand on her forehead and the other crossed under her breasts. 

I approached her and pulled her into a hug, seeing as how the very sight of Anna in a deep sleep scared her something terrible. It wasn't her fault Anna fell into a coma. All she wanted to do was love her, and somehow she ended up scared for her. One way or another, Bruce would find a way to help her. If it weren't for him, who knows what we'd do with her - probably put her out of her misery; but then again, what about Wanda? I could easily tell she was hiding something from us that she didn't want anyone to know, probably because it was personal or too shameful. Regardless, Steve and I gave her time, providing as much time while we figured out where the Red Book was located to help get the code words out of her head. 


End file.
